Risk Profile

An organization’s information risk profile should include guiding principles aligned with both its strategic directives and the supporting activities of its IRMS program and capabilities. This information should be listed early in the profile to allow the reader to understand its context and intent. Common guiding principles include the following:

1. Ensure availability of key business processes including associated data and capabilities.

2. Provide accurate identification and evaluation of threats, vulnerabilities and their associated risk to allow business leaders and process owners to make informed risk management decisions.

3. Ensure that appropriate risk-mitigating controls are implemented and functioning properly and align with the organization’s established risk tolerances.

4. Ensure that funding and resources are allocated efficiently to ensure the highest level of information risk mitigation.

<strong>Maturity Level Details:</strong><p style="margin: 0.8em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Maturity levels consist of a predefined set of process areas. The maturity levels are measured by the achievement of the&nbsp;specific&nbsp;and&nbsp;generic goals&nbsp;that apply to each predefined set of process areas. The following sections describe the characteristics of each maturity level in detail.</p><strong>Maturity Level 1 - Initial</strong><br>At maturity level 1, processes are usually ad hoc and chaotic. The organization usually does not provide a stable environment. Success in these organizations depends on the competence and heroics of the people in the organization and not on the use of proven processes.<p style="margin: 0.8em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Maturity level 1 organizations often produce products and services that work; however, they frequently exceed the budget and schedule of their projects.</p><p style="margin: 0.8em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Maturity level 1 organizations are characterized by a tendency to over commit, abandon processes in the time of crisis, and not be able to repeat their past successes.</p><strong>Maturity Level 2 - Managed</strong><br>At maturity level 2, an organization has achieved all the&nbsp;specific&nbsp;and&nbsp;generic goals&nbsp;of the maturity level 2 process areas. In other words, the projects of the organization have ensured that requirements are managed and that processes are planned, performed, measured, and controlled.<p style="margin: 0.8em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The process discipline reflected by maturity level 2 helps to ensure that existing practices are retained during times of stress. When these practices are in place, projects are performed and managed according to their documented plans.</p><p style="margin: 0.8em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">At maturity level 2, requirements, processes, work products, and services are managed. The status of the work products and the delivery of services are visible to management at defined points.</p><p style="margin: 0.8em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Commitments are established among relevant stakeholders and are revised as needed. Work products are reviewed with stakeholders and are controlled.</p><p style="margin: 0.8em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The work products and services satisfy their specified requirements, standards, and objectives.</p><strong>Maturity Level 3 - Defined</strong><br>At maturity level 3, an organization has achieved all the&nbsp;specific&nbsp;and&nbsp;generic goals&nbsp;of the process areas assigned to maturity levels 2 and 3.<p style="margin: 0.8em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">At maturity level 3, processes are well characterized and understood, and are described in standards, procedures, tools, and methods.</p><p style="margin: 0.8em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">A critical distinction between maturity level 2 and maturity level 3 is the scope of standards, process descriptions, and procedures. At maturity level 2, the standards, process descriptions, and procedures may be quite different in each specific instance of the process (for example, on a particular project). At maturity level 3, the standards, process descriptions, and procedures for a project are tailored from the organization's set of standard processes to suit a particular project or organizational unit. The organization's set of standard processes includes the processes addressed at maturity level 2 and maturity level 3. As a result, the processes that are performed across the organization are consistent except for the differences allowed by the tailoring guidelines.</p><p style="margin: 0.8em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Another critical distinction is that at maturity level 3, processes are typically described in more detail and more rigorously than at maturity level 2. At maturity level 3, processes are managed more proactively using an understanding of the interrelationships of the process activities and detailed measures of the process, its work products, and its services.</p><strong>Maturity Level 4 - Quantitatively Managed</strong><br>At maturity level 4, an organization has achieved all the&nbsp;specific goals&nbsp;of the process areas assigned to maturity levels 2, 3, and 4 and the&nbsp;generic goals&nbsp;assigned to maturity levels 2 and 3.<p style="margin: 0.8em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">At maturity level 4 Subprocesses are selected that significantly contribute to overall process performance. These selected subprocesses are controlled using statistical and other quantitative techniques.</p><p style="margin: 0.8em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Quantitative objectives for quality and process performance are established and used as criteria in managing processes. Quantitative objectives are based on the needs of the customer, end users, organization, and process implementers. Quality and process performance are understood in statistical terms and are managed throughout the life of the processes.</p><p style="margin: 0.8em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">For these processes, detailed measures of process performance are collected and statistically analyzed. Special causes of process variation are identified and, where appropriate, the sources of special causes are corrected to prevent future occurrences.</p><p style="margin: 0.8em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Quality and process performance measures are incorporated into the organization.s measurement repository to support fact-based decision making in the future.</p><p style="margin: 0.8em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">A critical distinction between maturity level 3 and maturity level 4 is the predictability of process performance. At maturity level 4, the performance of processes is controlled using statistical and other quantitative techniques, and is quantitatively predictable. At maturity level 3, processes are only qualitatively predictable.</p><strong>Maturity Level 5 - Optimizing</strong><br>At maturity level 5, an organization has achieved all the&nbsp;specific goals&nbsp;of the process areas assigned to maturity levels 2, 3, 4, and 5 and the&nbsp;generic goals&nbsp;assigned to maturity levels 2 and 3.<p style="margin: 0.8em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Processes are continually improved based on a quantitative understanding of the common causes of variation inherent in processes.</p><p style="margin: 0.8em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Maturity level 5 focuses on continually improving process performance through both incremental and innovative technological improvements.</p><p style="margin: 0.8em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Quantitative process-improvement objectives for the organization are established, continually revised to reflect changing business objectives, and used as criteria in managing process improvement.</p><p style="margin: 0.8em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The effects of deployed process improvements are measured and evaluated against the quantitative process-improvement objectives. Both the defined processes and the organization's set of standard processes are targets of measurable improvement activities.</p><p style="margin: 0.8em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Optimizing processes that are agile and innovative depends on the participation of an empowered workforce aligned with the business values and objectives of the organization. The organization's ability to rapidly respond to changes and opportunities is enhanced by finding ways to accelerate and share learning. Improvement of the processes is inherently part of everybody's role, resulting in a cycle of continual improvement.</p><p style="margin: 0.8em 0px 1em; padding: 0px; text-align: justify; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">A critical distinction between maturity level 4 and maturity level 5 is the type of process variation addressed. At maturity level 4, processes are concerned with addressing special causes of process variation and providing statistical predictability of the results. Though processes may produce predictable results, the results may be insufficient to achieve the established objectives. At maturity level 5, processes are concerned with addressing common causes of process variation and changing the process (that is, shifting the mean of the process performance) to improve process performance (while maintaining statistical predictability) to achieve the established quantitative process-improvement objectives.</p>[view]

Any information system (including any telecommunications system) used or operated by an agency or by a contractor of any agency, or other organization on behalf of an agency, the function, operation, or use of which: I. involves intelligence activities; II. Involves cryptologic activities related to national security; III. Involves command and control of military forces; IV. Involves equipment that is an integral part of a weapon or weapon system; or V. subject to subparagraph (B), is critical to the direct fulfillment of military or intelligence missions; or is protected at all times by procedures established for information that have been specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive Order or an Act of Congress to be kept classified in the interest of national defense or foreign policy. (B). Does not include a system that is to be used for routine administrative and business applications (including payroll, finance, logistics, and personnel management applications). (Title 44 U. S. Code Section 3542, Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002. )Any information system (including any telecommunications system) used or operated by an organization or by a contractor of the organization, or by other organization on behalf of the organization: (1) the function, operation, or use of which involves intelligence activities; involves cryptologic activities related to national security; involves command and control of military forces; involves equipment that is an integral part of a weapon or weapons system; or is critical to the direct fulfillment of military or intelligence missions (excluding a system that is to be used for routine administrative and business applications, for example, payroll, finance, logistics, and personnel management applications); or (2) is protected at all times by procedures established for information that have been specifically authorized under criteria estab[view]

The globally interconnected, endtoend set of information capabilities, associated processes and personnel for collecting, processing, storing, disseminating, and managing information on demand to warfighters, policy makers, and support personnel. The GiG includes all owned and leased communications and computing systems, services, software (including applications), data, security services, and other associated services necessary to achieve Information Superiority. The globally interconnected, endtoend set of information capabilities, associated processes, and personnel for collecting, processing, storing, disseminating, and managing information on demand to war fighters, policy makers, and support personnel. (DoD Directive 8100. 1, 19 Sept. 2002)[view]

A passive device, field-powered device, or transponder that detects the presence of authorized personnel and grants them physical entry into a facility. The proximity device is worn or held by the authorized bearer. When they pass a proximity reader, the reader is able to determine who the bearer is and whether they have authorized access.[view]

A detailed process of identifying factors that could damage or disclose data, evaluating those factors in light of data value and countermeasure cost, and implementing cost-effective solutions for mitigating or reducing risk. Process of managing risks to agency operations (including mission, functions, image, or reputation), agency assets, or individuals resulting from the operation of an information system. It includes risk assessment; costbenefit analysis; the selection, implementation, and assessment of security controls; and the formal authorization to operate the system. The process considers effectiveness, efficiency, and constraints due to laws, directives, policies, or regulations. (NIST Special Pub 80053)The discipline of identifying and measuring security risks associated with an information system, and controlling and reducing those risks to an acceptable level. The goal of risk management is to invest organizational resources to mitigate security risks in a costeffective manner, while enabling timely and effective mission accomplishment. Risk management is an important aspect of information assurance and defenseindepth.[view]